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Moonrise Kingdom

Synopsis

A tormenting and surprising story of children and adults during the stormy days of the summer of 1965.

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.

I could talk about how this film's structure finally achieves the blissful melancholy that has been at the heart of all of Wes Anderson's films. I could talk about the precision of his framing and tracking shots, and how often he finds visual comedy through a perfect edit, or the slight entrance of new material into the frame. I could talk about how depressing the film is, the hints of both a traumatizing past, and that in a way, Sam and Suzy try and burn a memory so deep into their minds that they can create a traumatized memory they want to remember (perhaps best seen by Suzy's scream during her ear piercing - "do the other one"). I could…

A sweet coming-of-age tale about the innocent love of a 12-year-old couple, Suzie and Sam. Chasing them, in an attempt to separate the innocent lovers: a scout troupe led by Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton), the island policeman (Bruce Willis) and Suzie's unhappy lawyer parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand).

The brilliance of this story lies in its simplicity, and while the style might not be for everyone, I absolutely ate it up. It's funny, it awkward and its pretty. It also reminded me a great deal of Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I'm a huge fan of (Wes Anderson's film prior to this one).

It's a simple story of unrequited love, and the pressures and rules that parents place on children, when in reality they are just as immature and irresponsible as their offspring.

This is a great day. A fabulous day. Feb 16 2013: The first day that I liked a Wes Anderson film. Finally!

My first date with Anderson was over 10 years ago. It should have gone swimmingly. Deadpan comedy. Quirky. Bill Murray. But alas, it was a disaster. After 1 hour of trying really hard, I realized that doing laundry was preferable to spending another minute with him and Rushmore.

The second date was no better. Even Gene Gene the Acting Machine couldn't hold my interest. It is not possible to have cared any less for the Tenenbaum family than I did. But I stuck around for the duration, determined to see if perhaps Mr. Anderson's Midas…

"I admit we knew we'd get in trouble. That part's true. We knew people would be worried, and we still ran away anyway. But something also happened, which we didn't do on purpose. When we first met each other, something happened to us."

Wes Anderson's films are pretty universally polarizing, but over the years he's managed to carve out a fairly substantial fanbase (of which I would now consider myself a part). But none of his films seem to polarize even within the fanbase itself quite like Moonrise Kingdom. In fact, from what I've heard, it often sounds like those who don't consider themselves fans enjoy this while those who do consider themselves fans do not. As with everything else,…

Entry 21: A film you find in one of your Letterboxd followers' top 4 favorite films! (And boy, is Colin on to something.)

Though I've always admired Wes Anderson's perfect plasticity, I've never found it meaningfully used to hit raw emotional nerves. How surprised I must have been, then, to have found Moonrise Kingdom, a distinctly Andersonian product with a heart like nothing else in his oeuvre. Perhaps because he scales his symmetrical eye onto lackadaisical teens in the 1960s. Perhaps because it's filled to the brim with precious moments that transcend Andersonian synthetics. (Point me to the person that isn't moved by Suzy and Sam's impromptu dance to 60s French rock,…

"I love you but you don't know what you're talking about." "... I love you too."

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I care so much about this movie. It's about respect. For such a silly director, Wes Anderson takes a tremendous amount of care to take these characters seriously. They're ridiculous in the details, of course, but Sam and Susie are built on the loneliness and desperation that so many kids must feel. I know I sure did.

They have no patience for their inattentive guardians, although there's no one person who deserves blame for the way they don't fit in. They're eventually saved because an entire community realizes their need.

These kids are completely genuine. They see themselves as fully adult. They KNOW…

I love Wes Anderson movies. I like the way he overuses color to create an out-of-this-world experience for the viewer. Anderson appreciates film at its most basic level: a form of escapism.

The plot of Moonrise Kingdom mirrors Anderson's cinematic style. We get to have an intimate look into the troubled lives of two very adorable, precocious, and charismatic children. The fabulous story-telling in this film will take you back to your own childhood. Not just your adult memories of the experience--but the actual feeling of being a child. The all-or-nothing mentality, the delusions of grandeur, the utter reckless abandon, the oblivion to mortality. You will see love as you first saw love. You feel the passion (or at least…